Nether World
Crime and the Police Courts in Victorian London
A new account of urban Victorian life told through the dubious day-to-day of London's police courts.
Nether World presents a rich, often humorous glimpse into everyday life in Victorian London through a revealing account of nineteenth-century police courts. People of all classes brought complaints to this court about those who had hurt, abused, or stolen from them — drunks, pickpockets, wife-beaters, and fraudsters — who were each in their turn judged by magistrates wielding broad summary powers. Delving into underexamined court records and the pages of a fast-developing newspaper industry, Drew D. Gray offers a fresh description of a vibrant, ever-changing metropolis and considers ongoing issues such as poverty, homelessness, violence, substance abuse, prostitution and — of course — crime.
Drew D. Gray is Head of Culture (Humanities, Media, Performance) at the Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology, University of Northampton. His publications include London’s Shadows: The Dark Side of the Victorian City (2010). He authors a blog, thepolicemagistrate.blog, and has made a number of appearances on TV, radio and podcasts.
